Joseph ‘Joe’ Charles Cirincione, 1950-2010

Joseph “Joe” Charles Cirincione, known to friends and loved ones as a devoted husband and father, an avid traveler and follower of sports, and an impassioned listener to the “Oldies,” died on Aug. 31, 2010, in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he had retired to live with his wife, Yumi, after 36 years of working for the U.S. Postal Service.

Joseph “Joe” Charles Cirincione

Outside the workplace, life at its best was a champagne brunch for Cirincione, whose spirit was expressed in his favorite phrase, “What’s for dessert?” spoken with a beaming smile.

Joe was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 30, 1950, to first-generation immigrants Mary (Maria) and Charles Cirincione from Palermo, Sicily.

After 18 years in New York, Cirincione enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He received an honorable discharge two years later after transferring to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield.

His career in California took him from Torrance to Santa Ynez, where he lived with his first wife, Karen (Edwards), and their four children.

He moved to Santa Barbara where, on April 19, 1997, he married Yumi Smith in Franceschi Park, overlooking the Santa Barbara Harbor. Highlights of his last four decades were trips to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Hawaii and Alaska.

Cirincione was preceded in death by his parents and by an older brother, Vinnie. He is survived by his wife, Yumi; his sister, Carol Walkewicz of Las Vegas, Nev.; sons Anthony, 33, and his wife, Allison, Matthew, 31, and his wife, Julia, and Andrew, 26; and daughter Cameo, 24, all of Santa Barbara.

A celebration of Cirincione’s life — a final course he surely would have enjoyed — will be held in Santa Barbara at the Shoreline Park group picnic area at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16. Friends and family are invited to attend.

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